my island

Down and Out in Dublin

What struck me about Dublin as I first walked around is how open it is. There aren’t any tall buildings in the city centre. I’m not sure there are any really tall buildings in Dublin at all, at least not to London standards. It’s refreshing. There’s air and sunlight in the streets and none of the borderline claustrophobia you get in London. There are lots of tourists, but it doesn’t feel as crammed as Brighton does on a summer afternoon. I find myself comparing it favourably with my adopted hometown and wondering if I could live there.

The bus system is incomprehensible, but it’s fairly easy to walk in Dublin. As usual, though, it’s also easy to misjudge distances. I didn’t realise when I set out for Phoenix Park that it was 3 miles away from where I was staying. After getting lost trying to find the modern art museum, finding it, and then walking back, I ended up doing ten miles, at least. Possibly more. And I felt it. There’s a tram system, but it seems pricey.

People told me that Dublin is an expensive city, and they weren’t kidding. Everything costs a lot. It’s hard (read: impossible) to find a meal for less than €5. Take the price of something in the UK and add 1/3 to that. Maybe more. Personally, I think the Euro is a bit rubbish.

Speaking of, for the love of god, if you take the ferry to Dublin, have cash with you. The only way into Dublin from the port is the bus, which costs €2.50. There are no cash points at the ferry station and no way to get any money at all. I made a foolish mistake getting onto the ferry with no money, and it was only through the kindness of a few people that I was able to get on the bus and into town.

As a sidenote, I have my Blackberry set up for international use, but for some reason my texts to Irish numbers weren’t going through. Might have been a network hiccup, since I think it worked the next day, but don’t be surprised if people there don’t get your texts. I thought about getting a cheap cell phone with an Irish sim, but it turns out to be surprisingly expensive there. It’s possibly cheaper to just use a UK phone.

Anyway, there are a few places in Dublin I liked, and a few suggestions I’d offer to anyone who visits.

Couchsurfing.com. If you’re on a tight budget (or in my case, basically no budget at all), a great way to find accommodation and meet new people. My host took me to an autonomous social centre on the north side of Dublin. I ended up reading Chomsky and helping in their kitchen on their vegan cafe night. (Sidenote: I now know that I could never work in a restaurant.)

Parnell Street and the surrounding area has loads of Asian markets and restaurants. I haven’t tried any of them, but I want to when I go back. I couldn’t justify paying something like €3 for wasabi peas, but if I could, I would.

Avoid O’Connell Street. It’s big and it’s wide, and that’s about it. Also, the Spire is ugly. It’s apparently used as a meeting place, but I don’t see how, since you can’t even see it from a block away. It is ridonkulous.

Ditto for parts of the Quays and the Temple Bar. I have a deep and abiding hatred for cities that revamp their deteriorated centres with hideous modern architecture. Lots of brushed metal and arched things. Rubbish. The Temple Bar is essentially a tourist trap, and everything there is expensive.

Henry Street has a massive stupid shopping centre, but nearby in Mary Street are loads of camping stores. If you need a tent or a sleeping bag or anything like that, it’s the place to go. There’s also the fruit, vegetable, and flower market, which is open to the public.

The Writers Museum is in Parnell Square. Unfortunately it’s €7 admission, so I didn’t go in. The Dublin Writers Festival is coming up towards the end of the month, too. I wish I could be there for it. Dublin’s having lots of festivals right now. The Gay Theatre Festival is just finishing up, and there’s a dance festival coming up as well.

Phoenix Park is huge. It’s not the nicest park I’ve ever seen, but there is a lot of it.

If you want really pretty grounds, though, go to the Irish Museum of National Art. They have an exhibit on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera running until late June, which I wanted to go to while I was there. I may have to make a trip back to Dublin just to see it.

I only went to the Irish Film Institute to have a coffee, but it’s another place I want to see the next time I’m there. They’re showing Taxi Driver and The African Queen at the moment, as well as other arthouse stuff.